The prince longs for me every night after mastering thought-reading
Chapter 290 - 289 What Will Your Highness Do If You Cannot Get Pregnant?

Chapter 290: Chapter 289 What Will Your Highness Do If You Cannot Get Pregnant?

As Shen Chuwei walked in, she saw him sitting at the desk with a drawing board in hand, as if he were painting.

When Xiao Jinyan approached, he realized that the drawing board was blank with just a piece of white paper; no strokes had been made yet.

"What are you planning to paint, Little Nine?"

Shen Chuwei looked up upon hearing his words and saw Xiao Jinyan standing behind her. He was tall and dressed in a dark brocade robe. Under the candlelight, the golden threads of the brocade pattern were faintly visible, exuding an air of nobility laced with a hint of coldness.

"This concubine had promised to paint a couple’s portrait for Your Highness, right? I am thinking about the composition."

As she spoke, she set the drawing board down on the desk and then stood up.

Xiao Jinyan had seen Shen Chuwei painting; it happened rarely, perhaps once every half a month or even longer.

"Had you not said, this palace would have thought you had already started. So you haven’t even begun."

Shen Chuwei responded, "Painting also requires inspiration, or else the work may lack a sense of reality."

Xiao Jinyan asked, "So when you paint me, is it because you have inspiration?"

Shen Chuwei nodded.

When she painted the first picture, it was solely because Xiao Jinyan’s face was exceedingly handsome; one might say he’s a rare find in four thousand years.

As someone who was both obsessed with faces and a painter, of course, she would paint when she had such material.

The second painting was because she thought the image of Xiao Jinyan reading was so beautiful that she couldn’t resist capturing it.

Xiao Jinyan wrapped his arms around her. The clothes were thinner in summer as he could clearly feel the warm, soft skin under his palm.

Shen Chuwei, who had bathed and couldn’t sleep, had taken out the drawing board, wearing only a tank top and shorts as her sleepwear, cool and comfortable.

Xiao Jinyan’s long fingers brushed aside the hair from her chest to her shoulders, revealing her fair, moist shoulders.

"Since inspiration is needed, then take your time. There’s no rush."

Without Xiao Jinyan saying, Shen Chuwei, with her salted fish temperament, was not in a hurry either. Painting was meant to satisfy one’s own aspirations, not to add to one’s worries.

Otherwise, painting would feel like fulfilling a task and lack vitality.

The weather was hot, and being held by him made Shen Chuwei feel even hotter.

"Your Highness, let me help you undress."

She looked down, her gaze falling on the white jade belt, and reached out to unfasten the clasped buckle.

Xiao Jinyan watched as she pulled off the belt, the Jade Pendant clinking against the clasp with a crisp sound.

A pink sachet also swayed with her movements.

Seeing the pink sachet, Shen Chuwei thought it matched well with the moon-white color, though not so much with the dark brocade robe.

Summer clothes were much lighter than those worn in spring and winter, making them easier to remove and not heavy.

After he was undressed, Xiao Jinyan went to bathe.

Shen Chuwei kicked off her shoes and sprawled on the bed, continuing to research recipes.

In the hot weather, figuring out how to enjoy cold treats in ancient times was a big deal.

When Xiao Jinyan came out from his bath, he saw Shen Chuwei lying on the bed with a book in hand. With his excellent memory, he immediately recognized it as a cookbook.

"Studying recipes again?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed, tilting his head to take a look and realizing it was a different book from last time.

Shen Chuwei replied, "Yes, food is the first necessity of the people. Studying more about it is a summer blessing."

"Leave it for tomorrow," Xiao Jinyan said as he took the cookbook from her hands, glancing at the pictures and noticing some strange items he had never seen before.

The paper was smooth, and he didn’t know where it had come from.

Shen Chuwei did not protest, as it was rest time now.

"That’s good, it’s time to rest now. We shouldn’t let reading affect our sleep."

As Shen Chuwei was speaking, she saw Xiao Jinyan settle the book aside, not to lie beside her, but to turn over, his dark hair cascading down, slightly damp from his recent bath.

Even without mincing words, she knew what he intended to do.

She said earnestly, "Your Highness, we must balance work and rest."

Xiao Jinyan, bracing one hand beside her head and untying his own clothes with the other, said, "The Empress Mother is urging me to have offspring, so let’s work hard first."

As an art student, Shen Chuwei enjoyed watching a handsome man undress, observing him with an appreciative eye.

As he leaned down to kiss her, she couldn’t help but ask, "What if I truly cannot get pregnant?"

There were no shortage of healthy individuals who failed to conceive.

In modern times, some couples divorce for this reason, and then remarry, with both parties having children, which indicates there were no issues with either side.

Xiao Jinyan paused his actions, gazing at the one close at hand, and slowly said, "If you cannot, we will not force it. Having a child is icing on the cake, and its absence will not affect anything."

Shen Chuwei, who had just asked casually, received a firm response and was stunned for a long time,

"But you are someone who will one day become Emperor. How can you do without an heir?"

"Rest assured, I can handle all that," Xiao Jinyan said as he kissed her lips, "Let’s work hard first. Having a child is also icing on the cake."

The point was, it would resolve the current trouble.

Shen Chuwei asked again, "I mean, if I cannot bear children, and you wish for offspring in the future, what then?"

Xiao Jinyan looked at her intently, "Do you not trust me?"

Shen Chuwei, with her chin up, replied, "This concubine is simply taking precautions."

Xiao Jinyan, not sure whether to laugh at her cleverness or be irked by her mistrust, said, "In the end, you still do not trust me."

Shen Chuwei offered consolation, "Your Highness, trust can sometimes be a burden."

Xiao Jinyan looked at her, puzzled. "How could that be a burden?"

Shen Chuwei explained, "If this concubine trusts Your Highness and you break that trust, I will be disappointed. Your Highness, bearing this trust, if you make a choice beyond your control in the future, and the chosen is not this concubine, it constitutes a breach of trust. Those who value loyalty will feel guilty, thus imposing a bilateral burden."

Xiao Jinyan found her reasoning somewhat sound.

"You’re not without reason," he said.

Shen Chuwei, pleased with her rare lengthy discussion, started to smile triumphantly, but then heard Xiao Jinyan say, "Don’t be too pleased with yourself too soon. You’re only half right. If there’s no trust between husband and wife, the relationship won’t last long, understand?"

The smile that had been rising on Shen Chuwei’s lips gradually faded away. In terms of eloquence, she was no match for Xiao Jinyan.

It was undeniable that at twenty, Xiao Jinyan was profoundly learned and had a mature mindset, unlike some modern-day youths.

The only drawback was that sometimes in his presence, she felt like a student who had answered a question incorrectly, and he was the teacher correcting her.

Like now.

Her elaborate argument had been refuted by the serious "teacher."

What’s the harm in letting her feel proud once in a while?

That said, as a modern person, she truly could not accept her husband being with another woman.

In her eyes, Xiao Jinyan was that husband.

Even if in the future, due to the need for an heir to secure the Crown Prince’s position, he had to share a bed with another woman out of necessity.

She would still find it unacceptable.

But this was ancient times, expecting a man to be chaste was as difficult as ascending the heavens.

It was still necessary to prepare for the future.

Seeing her silence, Xiao Jinyan’s graceful fingers lifted her chin, "What’s the matter? Don’t you agree with what I said?"